Cdnoilram
01-12-2010, 02:20 AM
Well guys, we had some absolutely amazing weather for a few days so I had the gungho idea of finally switching in a suede headliner. So I did some web searching and found a couple of good write ups so I thought I'd pass on what I did with my ram's since a couple of people have talked about doing it.
Tools required:
#50 torx for seatbelts
#15 torx for sun visors
10mm socket w/ extention
Spray adhesive (make sure it's for headliners, most aren't) I used Permatex from Auto Value
Roller
heat gun
rubber gloves
dust mask
Suede (2.5m from any fabric store)
Time: 1 day
Cost: $100Cdn ($60 in fabric)
Firstly, removal of all the upper pillar covers was a snap after you remove the seatbelt and grab handles. After that, remove the dome light (I don't have an overhead console) completely, the rear coat hooks (they're a chore, you have to pull the bottom half of the hook out and getting it started is hard). removing the sun visors is simple, they're held by 3 torx screws and the clips which are the same as the coat hooks.
Once it's all pulled apart, open all the doors, remove the headrests and fold the front seats back as far as possible. Pull the liner down and rotate it 90 degrees inside the cab. You have to bend it a bit, but there's some flex. Remove the headliner through the passenger front door.
Alright, the headliner is 2 parts, there's the foam backing and the foam cloth. On the back of the foam cloth is a thin layer of fiberglass which comes off with the cloth, and after pulling about a foot off, I got some nitrile gloves and my respirator since fiberglass is annoying to work with. *Note* if you want to re-inforce with fiberglass once you remove the cloth you can... I didn't and noticed the liner is a little more flimsy than before.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1043.jpg
Once the cloth is completely removed, I sanded the foam down to remove any high points from left over foam cloth and fiberglass (wear the respirator for this part as MMMFs are lung irritants).
Then I layed out my black suede and cut the excess off, save this for the sun visors. I did the glue in 2 parts, one half at a time since it's such a large surface and the glue tacks up pretty fast.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1049.jpg
Start at one end and smooth towards the corners/sides, pushing all the air pockets out. I got a glue spot or two on the liner and i'm not sure how to remove it for now. When applying the glue, allow it to tack a bit before squeezing the fabric down or it'll squeeze through and matte the suede's pile down.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1051.jpg
Once I pulled everything tight and reached the front pocket where the sun visors screw in, I could not for the life of me get rid of the creases because of the shape of the pocket, so I went with it and made them both uniformly creased, so it looks pretty good.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1052.jpg
If you need to warm up the glue to smooth out a section then heat it up with the heat gun and rework the area.
Onto the sun visors!
They fold open I found, so using a flat blade screwdriver, I gently pryed them apart and you can see what they look like here
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1044.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1045.jpg
To cover them, I used the original fabric as a template on the suede and stretched it over the visor. Using small slits I stretched the cloth and hooked it over the pins, then as I closed it up, I pressed the loose fabric inside and the hooks the OEM cloth is pressed on keep it in place. Final looks like this... and no, I did not make a sleeve like the OEM visor.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1053.jpg
Then I dyed all the hooks black and the dome surround to match my interior accent.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1056.jpg
Tools required:
#50 torx for seatbelts
#15 torx for sun visors
10mm socket w/ extention
Spray adhesive (make sure it's for headliners, most aren't) I used Permatex from Auto Value
Roller
heat gun
rubber gloves
dust mask
Suede (2.5m from any fabric store)
Time: 1 day
Cost: $100Cdn ($60 in fabric)
Firstly, removal of all the upper pillar covers was a snap after you remove the seatbelt and grab handles. After that, remove the dome light (I don't have an overhead console) completely, the rear coat hooks (they're a chore, you have to pull the bottom half of the hook out and getting it started is hard). removing the sun visors is simple, they're held by 3 torx screws and the clips which are the same as the coat hooks.
Once it's all pulled apart, open all the doors, remove the headrests and fold the front seats back as far as possible. Pull the liner down and rotate it 90 degrees inside the cab. You have to bend it a bit, but there's some flex. Remove the headliner through the passenger front door.
Alright, the headliner is 2 parts, there's the foam backing and the foam cloth. On the back of the foam cloth is a thin layer of fiberglass which comes off with the cloth, and after pulling about a foot off, I got some nitrile gloves and my respirator since fiberglass is annoying to work with. *Note* if you want to re-inforce with fiberglass once you remove the cloth you can... I didn't and noticed the liner is a little more flimsy than before.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1043.jpg
Once the cloth is completely removed, I sanded the foam down to remove any high points from left over foam cloth and fiberglass (wear the respirator for this part as MMMFs are lung irritants).
Then I layed out my black suede and cut the excess off, save this for the sun visors. I did the glue in 2 parts, one half at a time since it's such a large surface and the glue tacks up pretty fast.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1049.jpg
Start at one end and smooth towards the corners/sides, pushing all the air pockets out. I got a glue spot or two on the liner and i'm not sure how to remove it for now. When applying the glue, allow it to tack a bit before squeezing the fabric down or it'll squeeze through and matte the suede's pile down.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1051.jpg
Once I pulled everything tight and reached the front pocket where the sun visors screw in, I could not for the life of me get rid of the creases because of the shape of the pocket, so I went with it and made them both uniformly creased, so it looks pretty good.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1052.jpg
If you need to warm up the glue to smooth out a section then heat it up with the heat gun and rework the area.
Onto the sun visors!
They fold open I found, so using a flat blade screwdriver, I gently pryed them apart and you can see what they look like here
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1044.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1045.jpg
To cover them, I used the original fabric as a template on the suede and stretched it over the visor. Using small slits I stretched the cloth and hooked it over the pins, then as I closed it up, I pressed the loose fabric inside and the hooks the OEM cloth is pressed on keep it in place. Final looks like this... and no, I did not make a sleeve like the OEM visor.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1053.jpg
Then I dyed all the hooks black and the dome surround to match my interior accent.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Aerohead_418/Truck/IMG_1056.jpg